This Week’s Links

Gird your phone lines: The Senate has voted to extend the US Patriot Act for another year. [WashingtonPost]

A bill up for vote in the United Kingdom would allow same-sex couples to marry in British synagogues and other places of worship. As it is currently illegal for a rabbi to marry a same-sex couple in England, this constitutes a huge step forward. [Jewlicious]

If you like the movie Snatch, then you’ll love the story of a real-life fake robbery perpetrated by men dressed as Hasidic Jews. The two men behind the faux heist, jewelry store owners, staged the theft to cash in on their substantial insurance policy. Needless to say, it didn’t work. [Heeb]

The mayor of Jerusalem has offered 120 Palestinian families new apartments in return for the planned demolition of their current ramshackle homes. The families in question are miffed, and the mayor has been accused of attempted ethnic cleansing. [NYTimes]